Making the most of fall

I think autumn is becoming my favorite time of year. I've been feeling a little guilty lately whenever we have to do something inside. All of the sunny skies, cool weather, and lack of bugs make the out-of-doors hard to resist. So I've been frequenting county parks with the girls lately in an attempt to, hopefully, stock up on this beautiful weather before we are forced to hibernate for several months.

We planned a family day this past Sunday to enjoy some outdoor time together. We got up early (well, actually, we were awakened early by a few pint-sized Mischnicks) and went to early church so we could drive up to Devil's Lake State Park for the day. We had a picnic, went for a hike, played at the playground, and gave Matt a chance to experience what the girls and I have been doing several times a week lately :)

In the past, I've used the term "hike" pretty loosely, but not this time. We did a real hike, even if Matt and I weren't expecting to do something quite so strenuous. Although the hike itself was only about a half mile each way, it was practically straight up, climbing up stairs cut into the rocky hillside. Anna was in such a good mood the entire time; Matt and I couldn't get over how "mature" she seemed and how good-natured she was being in spite of the craziness of the hike. I mean, she's usually a pretty good kid, but this hike was definitely more than what she was used to and we were expecting some whining by the end. But, nope, she sang songs the whole way down the bluff and chatted with the many other hikers we passed. (Kate enjoyed things, as well, from the backpack point of view. I carried her up; Matt carried her down. My legs hurt today.)


We made it up to Balanced Rock, seen in the above photo, about half way up the hillside.

Saturday and then Sunday afternoon and evening were yard/garden clean up days at our house. Matt and the girls helped a LOT and, except for things like hauling firewood into the house, tilling the garden, fertilizing the garden with manure from the farmer, etc., things are pretty well cleaned up. Okay, maybe it sounds like we have a lot to do yet, but we really did get a lot done on Saturday! This year it was a relief to finally pull up the tomato and pepper plants and pick the last of our pumpkins; I think it was a record summer in our garden for many reasons.

We've got another beautiful weather forecast here this week and have already spent one afternoon hiking with some friends at the University Arboretum. More fun afternoons to come!